Rumor Debunked: Tezos Isn’t Hiring EOS Creator Dan Larimer

Rumors suggesting that Tezos plans to hire EOS creator Dan Larimer are beginning to circulate. Since EOS outranks Tezos by an incredibly large margin, and since the two projects are directly competing, such a move would be almost unfathomable. Indeed, the rumors are largely unfounded, and all talk seems to have been borne out of a tense Twitter argument.

Rumors Sparked On Twitter

Rumors of Larimer’s recruitment began after Emin Gün Sirer, a Cornell professor and Tezos advisor, criticized a design flaw that allowed the theft of 2.09 million EOS to take place. Brendan Blumer, the CEO of EOSIO, quickly retorted that Tezos actually appears to admire EOS’s construction:

“With all [due] respect, if EOS is so poorly designed, why is Tezos actively trying to hire [Dan Larimer] to build your protocol, also based on Dan’s DPOS inventions?”

Attached to Blumer’s tweet is an email which indicates that the Tocqueville Group, a new Tezos startup, recently attempted to recruit Larimer:

“Hey Daniel, I’m searching for a CTO for the Tocqueville Group, an early stage business with a 7 year contract to build tools, infrastructure and ultimately – the Tezos protocol… I wanted to know if you would be keen on joining [as] a CTO.”

Blumer probably shared the email as a “gotcha,” not with the intent to spark rumors about Larimer and Tezos. Tocqueville is only loosely affiliated with Tezos, and no Tezos insiders seem to believe Larimer will work on the project. Additionally, the original email was sent by a recruiter, distancing Tezos from the issue to an even greater extent.

The Community Responds

So far, the crypto community has largely been concerned with the recruitment agency’s misstep. Hiring Tezos developers from within the EOS community makes some sense: Tezos, like EOS, relies on a variant of DPOS consensus. However, the recruiter seems to have sent out emails to possible candidates without considering the capacity that those individuals work in.

Simply put, Larimer is a more significant figure than the recruiter appears to realize. It seems nearly impossible that Larimer, who is responsible for one of the most successful blockchains, would accept a seven-year contract with a minor company. Plus, Larimer himself does not seem to consider the proposal worth acknowledging.

A Bad Look For Everybody

Some see the entire affair as a bad look. The original email reflects poorly on recruitment agencies who are unfamiliar with the blockchain world—and the startups that hire them. However, the conflict has also drawn criticism against the EOS leaders who leaked the recruitment email due to their own misgivings—either toward Tezos or toward outsiders in general.

Nevertheless, the defensiveness from Tezos and EOS is somewhat understandable: both projects are facing controversies that seem to be inescapable. EOS’s governance model and Tezos’s legal incidents have both proven to be lasting issues. However, those who have serious complaints seem to be in the minority, and both projects are otherwise successful.